Read Online Exposure (Jackson Chase Novella Book 1) by Connor Black - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Connor Black
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I raised my eyebrows at Clark, not saying a thing.
Joe looked puzzled, and Clark turned to address him. “The Lieutenant here seems to know a bit of Thai,” he said with a smile.
He then turned to me. “You’re very observant, Jackson. That was Kong. She is one of the locals that help me out from time to time.”
“You just happen to have an asset working across the street from that particular café?” Joe asked suspiciously.
Clark smiled. “No, Joe. Not that convenient, I’m afraid. Kong is a bit of a freelancer. She’s pretty resourceful, and can really be placed anywhere she might be needed. The Thai people are extremely kind and accommodating. She simply asked the owner of the restaurant for a job for a few days. Wanted to earn enough to buy her mum a nice gift, the story may have been. Works more often than you’d think.”
Joe and I relaxed. I was really starting to like this guy.
“Did she have an update?” I asked.
“No joy,” he said. “And to be honest, I told her that she could drop the assignment after today. I think we’ve covered this base.”
“Agreed.”
And with that, Kong reappeared with three Singha beers.
“Korp kun krap, Kong,” I said as she set them on the table.
With barely an accent she said, “You’re welcome.” She had a nice, hearty smile.
“Cheers,” Joe said, raising his glass.
In the warm, humid air of the city, the sweating beer bottle felt almost as good as that first sip tasted.
“Have you worked with Commander Chen long?” Clark asked.
I shook my head. “Came across her twice on the Stennis , and then had a few debriefings with her after the mission in Afghanistan. That’s about it, until today.”
“Well, Jackson, I have to say that I’ve been around military and government employees for the better part of forty years, and my impression from the past day is that she’s quite unique.”
Sterba, showing himself to be the one with even less tact and discipline than myself, couldn’t help himself. “You mean that unique wrapping of hotness around complete nerdiness? Or the fact that her legs are a mile long?”
Clark let out a roar of a laugh. “Not exactly what I meant, Joe. She has what one might call ‘command-reluctance’. She’s a little unsure of her place, despite the clearly defined command structure of government service.”
I nodded. “She does seem a little shy. But when the talk turns to tech, she hits her stride.”
“Exactly,” Clark said. “I have to tell you that from what I’ve seen over the past day, she would run circles around the analysts at the Agency.”
Joe and I looked at each other. Given Clark’s experience, that was a pretty big statement.
Clark went on, “Her conceptual thinking, paired with some amazing technical skills are very impressive. She was hitting some databases that it would take me a week’s worth of requests to get information from - if we could have accessed them at all. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I am really surprised the NSA or a big tech company didn’t grab her out of school.”
I could tell that Joe was as surprised to hear this as I was.
“Sounds like our sexy nerd’s got some skills,” Sterba observed.
She’s also got something that isn’t quite adding up. But my thoughts were cut short by our food arriving.
O f all the places I’ve been over the course of a life spent in sailing and in war, the food in Thailand will always hold a place at the top. If the culture here is centered first around Buddhism, the second thing held closest to the Thai heart is the food.
Our lunch showed just that. Clark had ordered well, and while the dishes were simple, the flavors were beautifully complex. Before us were a papaya salad, a green ginger chicken curry, and a red prawn curry. And while each of us knew that we should keep an eye on the café across the street, I don’t think Joe’s left the table for a second.
As Clark and I watched him deftly scoop out the
Joe looked puzzled, and Clark turned to address him. “The Lieutenant here seems to know a bit of Thai,” he said with a smile.
He then turned to me. “You’re very observant, Jackson. That was Kong. She is one of the locals that help me out from time to time.”
“You just happen to have an asset working across the street from that particular café?” Joe asked suspiciously.
Clark smiled. “No, Joe. Not that convenient, I’m afraid. Kong is a bit of a freelancer. She’s pretty resourceful, and can really be placed anywhere she might be needed. The Thai people are extremely kind and accommodating. She simply asked the owner of the restaurant for a job for a few days. Wanted to earn enough to buy her mum a nice gift, the story may have been. Works more often than you’d think.”
Joe and I relaxed. I was really starting to like this guy.
“Did she have an update?” I asked.
“No joy,” he said. “And to be honest, I told her that she could drop the assignment after today. I think we’ve covered this base.”
“Agreed.”
And with that, Kong reappeared with three Singha beers.
“Korp kun krap, Kong,” I said as she set them on the table.
With barely an accent she said, “You’re welcome.” She had a nice, hearty smile.
“Cheers,” Joe said, raising his glass.
In the warm, humid air of the city, the sweating beer bottle felt almost as good as that first sip tasted.
“Have you worked with Commander Chen long?” Clark asked.
I shook my head. “Came across her twice on the Stennis , and then had a few debriefings with her after the mission in Afghanistan. That’s about it, until today.”
“Well, Jackson, I have to say that I’ve been around military and government employees for the better part of forty years, and my impression from the past day is that she’s quite unique.”
Sterba, showing himself to be the one with even less tact and discipline than myself, couldn’t help himself. “You mean that unique wrapping of hotness around complete nerdiness? Or the fact that her legs are a mile long?”
Clark let out a roar of a laugh. “Not exactly what I meant, Joe. She has what one might call ‘command-reluctance’. She’s a little unsure of her place, despite the clearly defined command structure of government service.”
I nodded. “She does seem a little shy. But when the talk turns to tech, she hits her stride.”
“Exactly,” Clark said. “I have to tell you that from what I’ve seen over the past day, she would run circles around the analysts at the Agency.”
Joe and I looked at each other. Given Clark’s experience, that was a pretty big statement.
Clark went on, “Her conceptual thinking, paired with some amazing technical skills are very impressive. She was hitting some databases that it would take me a week’s worth of requests to get information from - if we could have accessed them at all. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I am really surprised the NSA or a big tech company didn’t grab her out of school.”
I could tell that Joe was as surprised to hear this as I was.
“Sounds like our sexy nerd’s got some skills,” Sterba observed.
She’s also got something that isn’t quite adding up. But my thoughts were cut short by our food arriving.
O f all the places I’ve been over the course of a life spent in sailing and in war, the food in Thailand will always hold a place at the top. If the culture here is centered first around Buddhism, the second thing held closest to the Thai heart is the food.
Our lunch showed just that. Clark had ordered well, and while the dishes were simple, the flavors were beautifully complex. Before us were a papaya salad, a green ginger chicken curry, and a red prawn curry. And while each of us knew that we should keep an eye on the café across the street, I don’t think Joe’s left the table for a second.
As Clark and I watched him deftly scoop out the
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